Kitsune Jin
by mature-yet-innocent
Summary: "Every since I got bit by that weird fox, things have started going to hell." Loosely based on the Spider-Man movie. AU. Contains supernatural themes. Gradual NaruSaku. "Chapter 10: Laughter and a Perv's Advice" up! Rated T for language and violence/gore
1. Prologue

Prologue

Hi, everyone. This is the first story I'll be submitting to , though it's not the first one I've ever submitted online. You'll be seeing some of those soon, hopefully.

_Narration_

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You want to know who I am?_

_You sure you want to know?_

_My story isn't for the faint of heart. If somebody told you my life was just that of a normal high school kid, that somebody lied or didn't know me very well. _

_But, let me tell you, it started a lot like that. _

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So, here we go. The Prologue for "Kitsune-Jin" as well as being a test run for my stories. So, bear with me, and please tell me what you think of this tiny excuse for a prologue.


	2. Chapter 1: Stop the bus!

Chapter 1

I do not own Naruto or Spider-Man. If I did own Naruto, the plot would have been much better from Chapter 408 on!

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Narration_

'Thoughts'

**Sound Effect**

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It all started with a girl…_

As a yellow school bus moved down a city street, a teenage girl sat inside, quietly surrounded by her chatting friends. She looked to be around 18, and was amazingly beautiful. Her rich pink hair cascaded down to the middle of her back with her bangs parted, and a small smile lit up her fair-skinned face. The girl was wearing a forest green jacket with a simple white t-shirt underneath, and blue skinny jeans. Her jade eyes shone as a boy around her age slung his arm around her shoulder, smirking. The boy had long brown hair tied back, pale lavender eyes, and a tattoo on his forehead.

_This girl. The girl next door. Haruno Sakura-chan. The girl I've been in love with ever since I was six. I'd like to tell you that I'm the guy next to her with his arm around her. Heck, I'd even settle for the guy sitting in front of them munching chips. _

"Hey, stop the bus!"

A tan hand slapped at the windows, hoping for the bus to stop. The students looked out the windows and burst out laughing at the ridiculous sight. A frantic teenage boy the same age as Sakura was struggling to keep up with the bus while carrying his backpack.

He was thin, wore thick glasses over blue eyes, and his bright blond hair was cleanly cut. The boy was wearing an oversized black-and-orange hoodie and jeans.

_That's me. Uzumaki Naruto. _

At this point, even the bus driver was chuckling at the sight and not bothering to stop the bus. Sakura let out an irritated sigh. 'Jerks…' She got up and marched over to the bus driver. "Just let him on, he's been chasing the bus for ten blocks."

The other students groaned as the bus slowed to a stop, their amusement dampened. Though the rosette was the most attractive and one of the most popular girls in the school, she had a tendency of sticking up for the unpopular kids.

Naruto quickly got on the bus and panted to the driver, "I'm sorry, I…"

**Whap!**

An apple had struck Naruto on the side of the head. As he clutched his head, wincing, the blonde saw the students, with the exception of Sakura and two of his friends on the bus, laughing.

Naruto rolled his eyes. 'Typical…'

As he moved between the seats looking for a place to sit, available spaces were quickly blocked by other students. Naruto's pleading gaze eventually moved to Sakura, whose face was unreadable. One of Neji's friends quickly stuck his foot into the aisle, tripping Naruto. The boy toppled with a yelp onto the floor, his glasses falling off. As students began to laugh in renewed amusement, Naruto let out a small groan.

As he wearily picked himself up, he saw his two friends Inuzuka Kiba and Nara Shikamaru in the back of the bus. (Author's Note: I assume readers know what they look like, so I will only describe what they are wearing.) He quickly made his way to them and sat down in between them.

"Ya know, I don't know why you don't just pull a prank on them like you used to," said Kiba quietly. He was wearing a zip-up gray hoodie with a black shirt with a wolf print, and black jeans.

"I don't want Sakura-chan to think I'm immature," muttered Naruto, rummaging in his backpack. "Besides it'll just make more trouble for me."

"Haven't you realized women like Sakura are troublesome?" said Shikamaru lazily, fingering an earring. He was wearing an olive vest over a gray t-shirt and jeans.

"Well, maybe she's actually worth the trouble, Shikamaru," said the blonde, pushing up his glasses. He took out a guide on various mythical creatures and started reading through it.

"But where's Sasuke?" asked Kiba, taking out a Superman comic and scratching his tattooed cheek.

"Teme? I don't know. But he has his reasons." As Naruto read his guide, he peered over the top at Sakura, who was currently listening to her iPod. His eyes moved from her headphones to the red ribbon she nearly always wore to keep her hair back.

'Does she even remember…?'

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And...there's the first chapter! Seem familiar? Yes? No? If characters seem OOC, I will try to keep them in character. But because this is an AU, they will be slightly different from their anime/manga counterparts.

As for what I said at the top about the Naruto plotline being better from 408 onwards...well, be good little reviewers, and you'll see.

Reviews will introduce Sasuke into the story.


	3. Chapter 2: Meet the Uchiha

** kyuubecky: Yeah, I know Naruto seems a lot like Pete, and people aren't exactly used to a smart Naruto, but give him time. The personality that you are more familiar with will show itself. **

** tonello: Thanks. And a superhero movie is gonna be hard to adapt. But, as I keep updating and you all keep reading, you'll see a more supernatural twist to the story. **

** sakura-da-rockstar: Thanks! I'm glad you like it. **

** shyguy: Isn't it?**

** dbzgtfan2004: I'm glad you want me to continue. And NaruSaku is arguably the best and most logical pairing in the series. Good to know there's other DBZ fans too. **

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**Sorry if I seem a little late with the updating. I've been working on drawings and editing some of the scenes from the manga into my own characters. I can't promise when I will post them online. **

**Now, this story is loosely inspired by the plot of the Spider-Man Movie. So there will be events and characters that will not be from the movie, as you may have seen from last chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Spider-Man, or I would have more money than I would know what to do with. **

**Enjoy!

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**Chapter 2

'Thoughts'

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"Welcome, everyone, to the Nami no Kuni Hakubutsukan," said the teacher. The school group was standing at the base of the steps to an impressive museum. "Now remember, stay in a group and don't touch the exhibits…"

Naruto looked at his friends. Shikamaru was looking bored and Kiba was tapping his foot, though both were still paying attention. Most of the other students, including Sakura's boyfriend, were either texting or chatting with each other. The blonde turned to Sakura, who looked rather tired. She turned in Naruto's direction, then smiled.

Naruto's eyes widened. 'Is Sakura-chan smiling…at me?'

The rosette gave him a little wave. Grinning, Naruto waved back, but stopped in surprise as two of Sakura's friends ran up to her from behind him. He watched, disappointed, as he watched her chat with them. 'Figures…she wouldn't want anything to do with me.'

Behind them, a small limo pulled up next to the curb. Inside, Uchiha Sasuke groaned, "Madara-daifu, just drop me off at the corner all right?" His long parted bangs fell into his dark eyes as he tugged at the corner of his dark blue hooded jacket. He was wearing a tan V-neck shirt underneath as well as a pair of black jeans.

"Why?" said Madara. "The museum is right there." He was currently wearing a practical business suit.

Though not truly Sasuke's father, Uchiha Madara had been Sasuke's biological father's mentor and best friend, and so had been named godfather. When Sasuke's parents had been mysteriously murdered around 10 years ago, Madara had taken in both Sasuke and Sasuke's brother as his own.

(Author's Note: Madara's hair looks like it currently does, relatively short and spiky)

"No, I just hate sticking out like this," grumbled Sasuke, staring out a tinted window. "These kids are public school and I don't want to show up in a limo."

Madara sighed, deciding to change the subject. "Well, I've sent you to all the best private schools the area can offer. And somehow, you've been rejected out of all of them, unlike Itachi. This is the only school you haven't made a mess of yourself at, so don't make me waste good money.

"You didn't use that money for me."

"Of course I did. Don't be ashamed of our family -"

"I'm not ashamed of our family," Sasuke interrupted, annoyed. "It's just…"

"Just what?"

"Hmph….never mind." Sasuke opened the car door. 'I hate this. Itachi, Itachi…so what if he's so perfect?' It was rare that Sasuke hated being an Uchiha, the family who headed one of the most successful military-backing companies in the world.

As Sasuke climbed out of the limo, he saw the back of his best friend Naruto. A small smirk spread across his face. "Hey, dobe."

Naruto turned around and a wide grin spread across his face as Sasuke walked over. "Hiya, teme."

They were an odd pair. The tanned blonde with the scholarly haircut and glasses, and the pale long-haired teen with dark hair and eyes. They had met in 6th grade; both were lonely, with dead parents. However, Sasuke was more antisocial than he was now, but that had changed due to Naruto's sunny disposition. The two slowly became best friends but maintained a friendly rivalry.

"Hey, Sasuke," said Kiba, grinning. Shikamaru stood behind him with his hands in his pockets.

Sasuke nodded slightly and started walking towards the entrance to the museum. "C'mon, let's go."

"Sasuke," said Madara from behind them. Sasuke turned around annoyed, to see his godfather holding his backpack. "You forget this?" Madara said with a small smirk.

Sasuke took his backpack with a grumbled thanks, then turned to his three friends. "My daifu, Uchiha Madara. Madara-daifu, this is Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, and Uzumaki Naruto.

Kiba grinned, while Shikamaru lazily nodded. The older Uchiha simply nodded to them, then turned to Naruto with a more animated expression.

"Ah, Uzumaki-kun," said Madara, shaking Naruto's hand. "I've heard a lot about you."

"Nice to meet you, Uchiha-san," said Naruto.

"Sasuke-kun tells me you used to be a little troublemaker, and you're now a scholar. You know, the same thing kind of happened to me."

"I've heard all about your discoveries and theories. They're really something."

"And you understand them…?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, rolling his eyes. "I had to write an essay on them."

"Impressive," murmured Madara, releasing the blonde's hand. "Your parents must be proud."

"I live with my aunt and uncle; they are proud."

"Hey, you four!" yelled the teacher. "Hurry up!"

Naruto quickly shook Madara's hand. "Nice to meet you, Uchiha-san."

"Hope to see you again." Madara got back into his limo.

As the four friends turned around and walked up the stairs, Naruto said, "He doesn't seem so bad."

"Now that he knows about you, yeah," said Sasuke darkly. "Probably wants to adopt you now."

"Naruto just likes being flattered," Shikamaru pointed out.

The teen in question was quiet, though a hint of a grin was on his face.

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**Nami no Kuni: Land of Waves**

**Hakubutsukan: Museum**  
**Daifu: Godfather (I think...)  
**

**How is this? Because of Madara's status in the manga, I decided to place him as the Norman Osborn character. If you guys don't like it, fine by me. Flame or complain, if you like. **

**It just fans my flames. :3**

**Now, I have a sneak peek, a teaser, if you will, of the next story I will publish. It's a Naruto story I've been working on for over two years, because I had not liked the direction the manga was taking. It will have multiple pairings, action, developing romance, discovery of teenage hormones, and a romantically ignorant OC. **

**So here we go...

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**

"Once I fully utilize this power, nothing will stop from destroying Sasuke from destroying Konoha. Even if others of the Uchiha clan were still alive and tried to stop him, he would merely swat them aside as he brings his home village to its knees. **Neither friends nor family will be able to stop him.**"

"So that's Konoha...looks like I'm going to get there in the morning."

'I have to focus on what I have to do right here and now. I can't let myself get distracted. After all, it's a secret that's been kept for 16 years that I'm going to be telling the Hokage.'

"What I'm about to tell you is top-secret, and is only known to around three people, myself included."

"…it's been a while since I've had to use this."

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**Reviews will let you see what goes on inside the museum, and will persuade me to post the next story faster. **


	4. Chapter 3: Tours and Disappearances

**I have just now finished writing up this chapter. I had to research a bit to find out more on the mythical creatures that were discussed in this chapter. **

**This story is loosely inspired by the plot of the Spider-Man movie. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Spider-Man. **

**Enjoy! :)  
**

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Chapter 3

'Thoughts'

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"There are many different kinds of mythical and legendary creatures in our culture and folklore," said the guide showing the group around the museum. "Some are recognized as a force for good, others for evil, while others are ambivalent."

Naruto looked around in open awe. The hallway they were walking in had walls covered in ancient art and documents. Tattered scrolls, worn ink paintings…all about supernatural creatures. Even Kiba, who typically never showed interest in history, looked curious.

Naruto's gaze shifted to Sakura, who was walking off to the side. Her boyfriend Neji brought his arm around her and tried to bring her closer, smirking. She pushed him away angrily and looked away, her eyes catching Naruto's. The bespectacled blonde quickly looked away, blushing slightly.

"Yōkai, or demons, come in many different forms," explained the guide. They came into a collection of larger more elaborate scrolls, all with decorations of various animals. "For example, the inugami, or dog gods."

The guide pointed to a scroll featuring a dog wearing robes. "Said to be kind and nimble, as well as fierce toward its master's enemies. Legend says that inugami could once talk, but lost the ability over time."

Naruto took out a camera. When the guide looked questioningly at the blonde, he quickly said, "For the school paper."

The guide nodded, and Naruto brought the camera to bear on the scroll. As he focused on the illustration of the inugami, Neji pushed him forward slightly as he pressed the button, making him miss the shot.

Naruto looked back in annoyance and Neji sneered, then pushed him forward as the group moved on to the next exhibit.

"Next, the oni, or ogre," said the guide, gesturing to a different scroll. It showed a red-skinned humanoid dressed in traditional robes. The oni had large fangs, taloned feet, glaring eyes, and wild black hair.

"While having a relatively human build, they will unnatural features, such as extra appendages, a single eye, multiple eyes, etc. In the past, they were believed to be malevolent, and typically carried iron clubs, or kanābo."

Naruto raised the camera to take a picture of the illustration but was nudged forward slightly so that he missed the picture. He turned around, angry this time. One of Neji's "friends" gave him an innocent look.

"Leave him alone," spoke up Sasuke from next to Naruto.

"Or what?"

"Or his tou-chan will fire your tou-chan," said Neji, mockingly. He grabbed Sasuke's jacket and yanked him in. "What's your daddy gonna do, pretty boy? Sue me?"

Naruto took a step forward, angry. Neji noticed and laughed slightly. "What? You wanna fight, Uzumaki? Gonna pull out some of those martial arts I hear you've been practicing?"

Naruto hesitated, noticing that the group had already pulled ahead; Kiba, Shikamaru, and Sakura were with them.

It was true, both he and Sasuke had been practicing martial arts for a few years now. The problem was, Naruto had no stamina, power, speed or skill to speak of. Sasuke, while more in shape, wasn't much better off.

Neji, however, was known for having won every fight he had ever been in. And with his goons with him, there was no point in picking a fight.

"What is going on?" said the teacher suspiciously, walking over. Naruto inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

"The next person who talks will fail the course. I kid you not. Now let's go. "

Neji and his "friends" moved on, sulking. "Jerks," muttered Naruto. He and Sasuke quickly moved on to the next exhibit, which contained multiple scrolls and paintings.

Naruto was surprised to see that all the art in this particular section was of foxes, with varying amounts of tails. They were either shown with humans or by themselves, shown transforming into humans, or creating clones of themselves.

"Interesting," murmured Sasuke, joining Naruto. "You liked this one when we were younger."

Naruto nodded, looking slightly more animated. "I heard kitsune could generate blue flames when they need to. To defend themselves."

Sasuke moved over to the group. "Hmph, what makes you think I want to know, dobe?"

"Who wouldn't, teme?" The blonde moved to join his friend and the group.

"The kitsune have been associated with the Shinto deity Inari," said the tour guide. "They have sometimes been known to cause pranks, ranging from childish mischief to malevolence. However, kitsune are said to be very honorable, and will always keep a promise and repay a favor."

Naruto grinned to himself. 'Sounds a lot like me…I used to play pranks, too.'

Sasuke nudged Naruto and gestured to Sakura, who was looking curiously at the kitsune scrolls. "Why don't you go talk to her?"

"I can't, it's been so long since I actually did," muttered Naruto. "Can't you do it?"

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, then back at his tan friend. "Whatever." He quickly edged over to Sakura.

"They're kinda weird…" said Sakura to herself quietly, not noticing the Uchiha next to her.

"Yeah, I've always disliked them," said Sasuke calmly, making the rosette jump slightly and glance at the Uchiha.

"But, they are kinda neat," said Sakura, regaining her composure, staring up at the ink paintings.

"Hn. True, that."

Sakura looked at him skeptically at this as Naruto edged closer to listen.

"You know," started Sasuke. "These kitsune can actually make blue flames when they need to." (This made Naruto mouth, "Don't copy from me, teme!" silently from behind Sasuke.)

"Really?"

"Yes…a defense mechanism."

"Cool."

"Yeah."

Sasuke turned slightly to see Naruto gaping soundlessly at him, gave a microscopic shrug, and turned back around.

The guide gestured to a large stone slab on the wall with various carvings. "As a kitsune grows older and more powerful, they grow more tails. When they reach the maximum amount of tails, nine tails, their fur turns either white or gold," said the guide with a small amount of pride. "As you can see on this 1000-year old stone tablet, these kyuubi no kitsune are sometimes worshiped as demigods."

Sakura looked at the stone slab for a moment, then quickly said, "I don't see one."

"I beg your pardon?" said the guide, caught off guard.

"There isn't a kitsune on the slab."

The guide and the students, their attention caught, looked more carefully at the slab. Along the edges of the slab were robed humans or priests apparently praying to something in the center of the slab. However, in the center of the slab, was a large blank space.

Shocked, the guide stuttered, "But i-it was on there…just this morning…how can this be?"

Naruto stared at the empty slab, puzzled. "That's weird…" He suddenly felt a very strange feeling, as if he was being stared at. 'Ah, it's probably nothing…'

Had the former prankster left the group and stared down the corridor that the group had walked down, he would have seen a furry whiskered face staring at him from a corner. It belonged to a small red fox with two tails. The fox's blue eyes twinkled with excitement and mischief.

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**Ooh, what's gonna happen next? And what's with the nibi no kitsune and the stone slab? Will Naruto be able to stand up to Neji and have an actual conversation with his beloved Sakura-chan? **

**Find out on the next exciting chapter of "Kitsune-Jin"!**

**The martial arts that Naruto has been said to have been practicing will come into play later on in the story, by the way.  
**


	5. Chapter 4: Fox Bite and A Lack of Faith

**I just finished up this chapter. Four new characters introduced, and I'm gonna be uploading 3 chapters for three different stories. **

**...Damn, I was on a roll today! Anyway, I'm probably gonna be changing the rating to T for violence/gore and language. **

**This story is loosely inspired by the plot of the Spider-Man movie. **

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Chapter 4

'Thoughts'

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"Well…it is possible that the original could have been stolen or replaced," said the guide , confused. "Well, let's move on."

With that, the guide and the group moved on, leaving Naruto and Sakura at the slab. Sasuke had moved with them, mouthing to Naruto, "Good luck, dobe."

The said blonde inwardly sighed; Sasuke just had to leave Naruto alone with Sakura. 'Well, teme has always had more luck with girls.' Despite his friendship with Naruto, a school outcast, many of the girls at school found Sasuke cute.

Naruto watched Sakura lean over the glass cases, reading the description. He glanced to the side; good, the group was far enough. He took a few steps forward.

"Hey, Sakura-chan?"

The girl looked up, distracted, to look at the hesitant boy. Naruto took a breath and raised his camera slightly. "Can I take your picture? Cause I need one with a student in it."

Sakura looked slightly surprised, then grinned. "Oh…sure. Yeah."

"Great."

"Where do you want me?" Sakura took a step to the side. "Over here?"

Naruto took a few steps back and raised his camera. "Yeah, that's great."

Sakura seemed to hesitate, and looked apologetic. "Look, Naruto, about Neji and his friends…I'm sorry. They just can be such…"

Naruto did a half-hearted smile. "Jerks?"

"…Yeah."

Naruto shrugged slightly. "Don't worry about it. I'm kinda used to it." 'Though I am grateful that you said that…'

"Well…okay…" Sakura still wore a doubtful expression, then she smiled and ran a hand through her pink hair. "Don't make me look ugly."

Naruto did a fox-like grin. "That'll be pretty hard." 'It's impossible to make you look ugly, Sakura-chan…'

The rosette did an embarrassed giggle at that and Naruto raised his camera. Naruto quickly snapped a picture of Sakura smiling while gesturing to the exhibits.

"Ah, perfect," Naruto said, trying to sound reassuring.

Unnoticed by the two teens, the strange red fox turned the corner and slinked slowly towards them while Naruto continued to take pictures.

Sakura opened up the brochure and tried to look interested in the contents, to which Naruto took a picture of.

"That good?" the rosette asked, sounding apprehensive.

"Great," Naruto said. Sakura turned to the side and pointed at the brochure, wearing an amazed grin on her face, earning a click from the camera.

The fox continued to pad silently towards the oblivious teens, still no more than 15 feet away from them.

"Sakura, let's go!" yelled one of Sakura's friends.

The pink-haired girl looked at Naruto apologetically. "Sorry…I've gotta go." With that, Sakura jogged away.

The fox was now only ten feet away from Naruto, tails wagging slightly.

"Thanks!" Naruto called, lowering his camera.

Five feet…

Naruto sighed, putting away his camera. "Damn, I was so close …Well, at least I talked with her a bit…" He turned around and jumped slightly at the fox only three feet away from him.

'A fox?' Naruto was shocked at the sight, though had not noticed the two tails. 'What's a fox doing here?'

The boy knelt down slightly, grinning nervously at the blue-eyed fox. For some reason, wild animals always acted surprisingly friendly to Naruto.

"Hi," said Naruto gently, slowly putting his right hand forward. "What are you doing here?"

The fox appeared to hesitate for a second, then walked forward and licked the back of Naruto's hand.

Naruto smiled slightly, which turned into a gasp when he finally noticed the swaying twin tails. "What the…"

The fox winked, then suddenly bit down on Naruto's hand hard, eliciting a yelp of pain from the blonde, then quickly let go.

Naruto doubled over, as he clutched his bleeding hand; it felt like his hand was on fire.

"Hey, Naruto!" Naruto turned around, groaning and saw Kiba at the end of the corridor. "Let's go! It's time for lunch!"

"Hey, Kiba, help me get that weird fox!"

"Weird fox? What are you talking about?"

"Huh?" Naruto whirled around to see that the fox had vanished and had left no trace of it's presence. "That's weird…" He quickly ran over to Kiba and the two left.

Silence reigned in the corridor for a few seconds, then with a humming noise, a carving of a grinning fox slowly appeared on the empty spot on the stone slab.

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Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Corp headquarters and factory…

"You see, we've solved the horizon glide, and the multi-G balance issues," said a dark-haired scientist to a group of military officers. They were observing a man dressed in some kind of futuristic samurai armor float down on a rocket-powered glider in the shape of a bird of prey.

One of the officers, a general with long black hair and sharp features, rolled his eyes in annoyances. "I've already seen your so-called warhawk. That's not what I'm here for, Uchiha-hakase."

"Senju-oomaka! Good to see you again," called Madara as he descended the nearby stairs, wearing a lab coat. Hashirama Senju, his group of officers, and the Uchiha scientist, Madara's brother Izuna, looked up at the head of the corporation as the armored man landed on a platform.

Madara nodded at two men in business suits. "Senju-san. Sarutobi-san."

Senju Tobirama and Sarutobi Hiruzen, an albino with three facial markings and an old man with a goatee respectively, nodded back. "Madara." "Uchiha-san."

Madara descended the stairs, grinning. "Always a pleasure to have the board of directors pay us a visit."

"I want to see the progress reports on your potential performance enhancers," said General Senju, sounding business-like.

As the men walked, Izuna hurried up to the long-haired general. "We tried vapor inhalation with rodent subjects. They showed an 800% increase in strength."

"800%, that's impressive," said Sarutobi from behind.

"Any side-effects?" asked General Senju.

"In one trial, yes-" "It was inconsequential," interrupted Madara, walking alongside his brother and the general. "All the tests since then have been successful."

"And in the trial that went wrong, what happened? What were the side-effects?" asked General Senju, stopping, making the other men stop as well.

"…Violence, aggression, and insanity," answered Izuna.

"And what do you recommend?"

"That was only one test," said Madara, stepping in front of his brother. "With the exception of my brother, all staff certifies the product ready for human testing."

"Uchiha-hakase?"

Madara's eyes narrowed, then he stepped aside. Izuna took a step forward. "…We need to take the whole product back to formula."

General Senju sighed, turning around. Madara glared at Izuna in part anger and part disbelief. "Back to formula?" 'I can't do that! The product is perfect as is!'

"Uchiha-san!" said the long-haired general, making Madara turn around. "…I'm going to be frank with you. I never supported your program. We have my predecessor to thank for that."

"Madara," started Tobirama, stepping forward. "My brother gave the go-ahead to Quest Aerospace to build a prototype of their exoskeleton design. They test in two weeks."

"You have that long to correct the formula," finished Hashirama. "And if your so-called performance enhancers have not had _successful _human testing by that time, I'm going to pull your funding. I'm going to give it to them."

As the officers and businessmen left the room, Madara was left in shock. 'Only two weeks? I can't do all that in two weeks. Damn them…'

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**Hakase: Doctor, scientist (I think)**

**Oomaka: General (Again, this is an "I think" here)**

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**Finally, Naruto has been bitten by the fox! But how did it just disappear like that, and how the hell did it reappear on the stone slab? And here we see an appearance from Madara's brother, and the First, Second, and Third Hokages. If you know the story of the Spider-Man movie, you probably know what happens to them. **

**Find out what happens on the next exciting chapter of "Kitsune-Jin"!**

**

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And now, a preview of the first chapter of the sci-fi crossover that I will be uploading very very very soon. **

"We've got you. Though we didn't expect you to run to this backwater planet."

"So you weren't able to confess huh?" "...Ugh..." "Thought so."

"Well? Earthlings don't have tails like these, right?"

"I can't just stand around and let a girl get kidnapped!"

"Ka...Me...Ha...Me...HAAA!"

**Keep an out for "Dragon Troubles"!  
**


	6. Chapter 5: Nightmares

**I have just finished up this chapter. Sorry for the wait. **

**Ooh, and in recent Naruto chapters...Kisame commits suicide, and its now Konan vs Madara. Earlier, Kisame did the Kamehameha!**

**What did he call it? Samehameha? And were those spoilers for anybody. Ah, well...  
**

**This story is loosely inspired by the plot of the Spider-Man movie. **

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Chapter 5

'Thoughts'

* * *

In a modest house on the outskirts of Nami no Kuni…

"And Kami-sama said let there be light, and voila, there is light," grinned Jiraiya, screwing a lightbulb into the lamp on the kitchen ceiling. "40 soft glowing watts of it."

"Good for you," sighed his wife, Tsunade, from the doorway. "Kami-sama will be thrilled, I'm sure. Now get down from there. Don't want you falling on your ass."

Jiraiya stepped off the stool, he was on, groaning. A large middle-aged man with long spiky white hair and red lines tatooed from his eyes down to his jaw, he was an intimidating figure. But to his nephew and wife, Jiraiya was a good uncle and a loyal, loving husband…albeit a perverted one. "I'm already on my ass, Tsunade-hime. When the plant's senior electrician is laid off after 35 years, what would you call it? I am on my ass."

Tsunade walked over to the kitchen sink, rolling her eyes. With her graying blonde hair and brown eyes, she looked like a kindly middle-aged woman, who once possessed great beauty when she was young. "Just hand me that green plate, will you?"

Jiraiya walked to the counter, picking up said plate, and handed it to his wife. "The corporation is downsizing the people, and upsizing their profits."

Tsunade sighed. "Oh, Jiraiya, you'll get a job somewhere. You're not that hopeless."

"…Yeah, well, let's look in the paper and see," Jiraiya grumbled, grabbing a newspaper. He sat down at the dining table in the next room and flipped through the newspaper. "Ooh, bikini ads…I mean, uh, business ads…Let's see…computer…computer salesman…computer engineer…computer analyst…even the computers needs analysts nowadays?"

The white-haired man let out a sigh as his wife came in with a covered bowl. "Tsunade, I know I'm 58 years old, but I've never been one for computers. Besides, I can still provide for my family with money from my romance novels."

Tsunade walked over to Jiraiya. "I love you, and Naruto loves you too. You're the gutsiest, most responsible man I've known."

Jiraiya smiled at this. "And you're the most beautiful woman I've known. Not to mention you have a great rack."

Tsunade rolled her eyes, but smiled along, kissing her husband on the cheek. "That was when I was younger. But, you know we've been down and out before, but we'll survive. We always have."

"…Yeah." Then the couple heard the door open.

They turned to see their exhausted nephew close the door. "Hello, Naruto," said Tsunade. "You're just in time for dinner." The blonde dropped his bag and coat near a chair and walked over.

"Hey, how're you doing, gaki?" grinned Jiraiya. "How was your field trip?"

"Uh, I don't feel well, I'm gonna take a nap," said Naruto, his glasses slightly askew. Now that both adults looked at him closely, the usually energetic boy did look rather pale and sick through his tan complexion.

"Oh, you won't have a bite?" Tsunade said as Naruto started up the stairs.

"No, already had one."

"You sure you don't wanna have any ramen?" asked Jiraiya as Naruto rounded the corner.

"Um, no thanks. I gotta crash right now."

As Naruto's bedroom door closed, Jiraiya turned to Tsunade, confused. "What was that all about? He never refuses ramen."

* * *

In Naruto's room…

Naruto's shirt fell to the ground, leaving Naruto in his jeans, his glasses on the dresser. The skinny boy felt nauseous, and his whole body burned. It felt like he was on fire from the inside out and his heartbeat seemed to thunder in his ears.

The blonde stumbled over and fell onto his bed, then slowly rolled off, gripping a bedsheet.

Naruto shivered, the pain in his hand more pronounced than ever. 'Aagh…why does it feel so cold now? …It hurts…' The now-sweating boy then fell into a tortured sleep.

'The kitsune have been associated with the Shinto deity Inari,' the tour guide's voice echoed in his head. 'They have sometimes been known to cause pranks, ranging from childish mischief to malevolence. However, kitsune are said to be very honorable, and will always keep a promise and repay a favor.'

Within the fevered state of Naruto's mind, a vivid image of the two-tailed fox Naruto had seen earlier appeared. It's eyes, the same shade of blue as Naruto's own, seemed to glow. The fox seemed to grin, and a new voice, similar to Naruto's own but more animalistic, spoke.

'It is time for you to start on your true path…' Naruto's eyes flashed open before closing abruptly.

* * *

At the Uchiha Corp headquarters and factory…

"Nii-san, please, the performance enhancers aren't ready," protested Izuna, as his brother withdrew a tube containing a reddish-black liquid and placed it onto a small chamber. Madara then moved to a computer and started typing commands. "The data just doesn't justify this test. Now I'm asking you for the last time, as a brother. Don't do this."

"Don't be a coward," said Madara sternly, crossing to another computer to type in commands. "Risks are part of laboratory science."

"Just let me reschedule. With a proper medical staff and a volunteer. Just give me two weeks." A metal table with straps started to slide out of a large glass chamber in front of the brothers.

"Two weeks?" repeated Madara, removing his lab coat as the strapped table slid out. . "Two weeks? We'll have lost the contract to Quest and Uchiha Corp will be dead. Sometimes, you have to do things yourself." Madara started to remove his tie and unbutton his shirt.

"Get me the promachloraperazine."

Izuna moved to a shelf with various bottles of chemicals. "What for?"

"It begins catalyzation, when the vapor hits the bloodstream," explained Madara quickly, pulling off his undershirt. (Author's Note: And for Madara fangirls, yes, he is topless now. Enjoy it.)

His brother came back with a small bottle, then hesitated. "I hope you know what you're doing, nii-san."

Madara smirked, grasping his younger brother on the shoulder. "You've always worried too much, Izuna. This'll work."

The head of Uchiha Corp took the bottle of promachloraperazine. "…40,000 years of evolution and we've barely even tapped the vastness of human potential."

Madara quickly swallowed the contents of the bottle and threw it on the ground, smashing it into pieces.

His ponytailed younger brother looked apprehensive as Madara opened up the straps and laid upon the metal table. Izuna walked over, quickly put the straps over his brother, and put electrodes on Madara's forehead and bare chest.

Izuna rushed over to a computer and typed in a few commands, making the table slide back into the chamber. Another command and the chamber sealed itself.

Izuna hit a button and crossed to another computer as the table rose to a vertical position. From inside the chamber, Madara gave his brother a grim nod.

Izuna swallowed and typed in a command, making the reddish-black fluid in the tube gradually go down. 'That should go into a gaseous form and enter the chamber from the floor…'

And so it did. Madara looked down nervously, seeing a pale reddish mist came out of the vented floors, around the upright table he was strapped to. Madara's darted around, letting out a gasp, as the mist started to fill the room.

Izuna watched, fascinated, as the mist completely filled the glass chamber. He glanced at the readings on the computers; sure enough, the gas had entered Madara's bloodstream and Madara's muscles were steadily getting more dense.

Izuna looked at another reading and his eyes widened; Madara's pulse was nearly 150 beats per minute. Suddenly, he heard Madara choking and gasping in the chamber. "Nii-san?"

As the mist cleared slightly, Izuna could see his older brother convulsing and foaming at the mouth. "Nii-san!"

Izuna quickly hit a button, letting the mist drain out of the chamber. He watched, panicked, as Madara continued to convulse. 'Damn, I can't go in until the enhancer mist goes away…!'

As the last of the mist drained away, Madara gave one last uncontrollable shudder, the whites of his eyes showing, then finally stopped, sagging.

"Oh, Kami-sama…" Izuna looked, alarmed, at Madara's vitals on the computer; he was flat-lining. "Oh, Kami-sama…Nii-san!"

He rushed through the glass doors on the side of the chamber ("Oh, kami, Nii-san!") and ran to the unconscious Madara, undoing the metal straps. "Madara-nii-san!"

The panicing Izuna immediately started to do chest compressions on Madara's chest. 'Come on! Come on! Wake up, nii-san!'

He turned around at the sound of the computer beeping; Madara's pulse had been restored. Izuna let out an internal sigh of relief. 'Thank Kami…'

He did not, however, notice Madara's eyes flash abruptly open.

As Izuna turned back around, he found his own brother gripping his throat tightly in a superhumanly strong grip. Madara's lips were twisted into a snarl, and he had an insane look in his eyes.

His eyes…as a choking Izuna was lifted into the air by the changed Madara, he saw that Madara's eyes had changed, the irises turned blood-red, with three tomoe spiraling around the pupil.

"Back to formula…?" growled Madara, the now-crimson eyes staring at Izuna's black ones. Izuna fought vainly against his brother's impossibly strong grip, feeling more pain than he should have; it was as if those red eyes were piercing his soul.

Izuna shuddered, his eyes rolling back. Madara contemptuously threw him through the glass wall of the chamber, sending his own brother crashing into a shelf, sparks flying.

Madara jumped onto the edge, a sadistic sneer on his face, and leaped with a cackle.

* * *

**Kami-sama: God**

**-hime: princess**

**Nii-san: brother**

* * *

**I just wish to point out that Tsunade does look middle-aged in this story and not in her twenties or thirties as she appears in the anime/manga. **

**Yes...Naruto is going through the changes in his sleep, and he will become Kitsune-Jin. Some of the powers that he will have are hinted at in a previous chapter. **

**And those performance enhancers, have gone wrong...very wrong. And yes, Madara has the Sharingan now. That's cause the drug is potential performance enhancers, so it doesn't just deal with the physical attributes and insanity, but also unlocks traits that have long been hidden in a subject's DNA. **

**Stay tuned in to "Kitsune-Jin"!**


	7. Chapter 6: The Morning After

**I'm really sorry for the wait, minna-san. Please forgive me.**

**This chapter was originally going to have more in it, but I decided to save it for the next chapter.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6

'Thoughts'

* * *

Naruto woke with a start to the sound of his alarm clock. 'Ugh…finally morning…' He looked up, suddenly realizing his current position. 'Wait…why am I on the floor? Must have rolled off…'

The boy reached up blearily, shutting off his alarm clock, and pushed himself to his knees. Naruto reached over to the dresser, taking his glasses, and stood up.

He crossed the room to get dressed, putting on his glasses, then stopped, puzzled. His vision was blurry. 'What the…?' Naruto walked back over, stopping in front of the mirror, and took off his glasses.

He could see perfectly.

Surprised, Naruto put his glasses on, thinking he was seeing things. 'Blurry…' He took the glasses off, seeing his tanned reflection with disheveled hair. 'Fine…'

On again. 'Blurry…' Off again. 'Fine…'

Naruto looked at the now-useless glasses, befuddled. "That's weird…" He put the glasses on a table, turned around…

…and stopped, turning back around. 'Huh?' If Naruto was puzzled before, now he was in shock as he took a closer look at himself in the mirror.

Naruto had always known he had a skinny, though relatively tall, body, and certainly was not in shape. But now that he looked at this reflection, he saw that his non-existent muscles were larger and much more defined. Naruto flexed an arm, seeing the muscles in his forearm, as well as his bicep, tricep, and shoulder muscles tightening. He tightened his chest, seeing the bulge and feeling the strain in his pectorals.

He never thought it would actually happen, or how it did happen, but the only way he could describe himself now was…

'I've gotten ripped…?' Naruto thought, an expression of shocked disbelief on his face.

"Naruto?" sounded his aunt Tsunade's voice through the closed door.

"Yeah?" said Naruto, sounding a little overwhelmed by his current situation and body.

"Are you okay in there?"

"Uh…I'm…" Naruto relaxed his form. He really had a lean, muscular body and he felt more energetic than he had in years; the teenage boy felt a sense of growing amazement 'Wow…' "I'm fine," he said, a fox-like grin on his face, and flexed his other arm.

"You any better? Any change?" asked Tsunade, sounding relieved.

"Change?" Naruto looked down slightly, seeing his newly developed six-pack, and another big grin lit up his face. "Yep, big change."

"Well, hurry it up!" Tsunade sounded impatient. "You're gonna be late!"

"Right." Still grinning, Naruto turned to his dresser, then turned back to the mirror, noticing something else.

"Wha?" There, barely noticeable on the tanned skin of his face, were three faint lines on his cheeks.

Frowning, Naruto turned his head to the side, putting his fingers to his cheek and running them over the lines. The lines felt similar to scars, like microscopic indentations in the skin. 'They kinda…look like whiskers…'

Naruto went to his desk by the window, picking up a shirt that was on his chair, lost on thought. 'Man, this is one weird morning…'

Then he noticed Sakura in her own room in through his window, making Naruto's thoughts on his strange changes vanish.

Naruto smiled slightly, as he watched the rosette, dressed in a pale red shirt and tan skirt, hurriedly pull her red ribbon over her hair, pick up her bag, and hurry out her door.

Naruto walked away from the window, glanced back toward it, and back again. 'Maybe…things might be different this time around.' "…Okay."

* * *

A few minutes later…

Naruto trotted down the stairs in a pair of jeans and long black shirt, to where Jiraiya and Tsunade were sitting at the table. The rejuvenated blonde took a small jump, and ran along the corner of the staircase, landing with a small tap on the floor next to his aunt and uncle.

"Naruto!" said Tsunade, startled, as she poured Jiraiya coffee.

"Kami…I thought you were sick," said Jiraiya, starting as Naruto put his hand on his shoulder, then grinned.

Naruto simply grinned. "I got better." He headed briskly to the door, and picked up a black and dark orange jacket. "Bye, guys."

"But you haven't eaten anything you know!" Tsunade called down to him. "Do you have your lunch money?"

"Yeah, I got it."

Jiraiya called down to his nephew, grinning, "Hey, Kikuchi Yosai-sama, don't forget we're painting the kitchen right after school, got it?"

"Sure thing, Jiraiya-otooji. Don't start without me," said Naruto, picking up his backpack and pointed at his uncle.

"And don't start up with me," said Jiraiya, grinning and giving the blonde a thumbs-up. Naruto grinned back as he put his backpack on and headed out the door.

Jiraiya turned to his wife, smiling. "Teenagers. Raging hormones, they never change."

Tsunade smiled briefly. "Did you notice he left his hair uncombed? He wasn't wearing his glasses either."

"Eh…so what? Maybe he thinks doing that will get him women in the future."

Tsunade smacked her husband lightly on the head. "You never change, hentai."

* * *

As Naruto trotted cheerily down the steps of his house, he heard the door to Sakura's house bang open. He turned, startled, to see Sakura's angry father yelling at a miserable Sakura.

"You're nothing, and it's up to me! You're trash! You're always gonna be trash, just like her!" yelled Sakura's father.

"I have to go to school…!" said Sakura miserably. As Naruto got a closer look, he saw that her eyes were wet, like she had been crying recently.

Naruto stared after her for a moment then started after her. 'I hate when you're like this, Sakura-chan…'

* * *

In the city…

Naruto walked after Sakura on the sidewalk, who still looked rather depressed and had not noticed the boy walking some distance behind her.

'I wish I could do something…' Naruto thought. He came to a stop as Sakura stopped, looking like she was either thinking or waiting.

"…Hi, Sakura-chan," the blonde said to himself. "Hey, Sakura-chan. I don't know if you remember this, but we've, uh, been childhood friends in grade school and neighbors since I was six."

At this point a black sports car containing two of Sakura's friends pulled up next to the rosette. Sakura seemed to perk up slightly and climbed into her friends' car, though Naruto didn't notice. "I was wondering if maybe the two of us can get together sometime…maybe do something fun…or, I don't know, get to know each other again…or not." At this point, Sakura had driven away with her friends.

Naruto stood there for a few seconds, then realized that the school bus had driven past him. He promptly ran into the street into the street, chasing the bus.

Naruto did not notice himself, but he was running much faster that before, and caught up with the bus quickly. "Hey, stop the bus!" He slapped at the side of the bus, as the students on board laughed at him.

However, it was no use, and the bus managed to pull away, leaving behind a frustrated Naruto. 'Damn it, why do I always end up so late?' His thoughts shifted to Sakura, and then the car full of cheerful girls. 'For once, I wish I was actually a girl so that I could at least get a better ride to school!' Naruto envisioned himself as a female version of himself in the same clothes.

For a moment, he felt rather lightheaded and nauseous, and his body felt rather strange. Naruto put a hand to his forehead. 'Is it just me or does my hair feel longer?'

But as quickly as the feeling arrived, it passed away. Naruto simply shrugged. "Ah, well. I need to go to the school." With that, he ran off in the direction of the bus.

Two people on the street watched Naruto run. "Hey, is it just me, or did that kid look like a girl just now?" asked one. "Long hair and all?"

"Ah, you're imagining things. You been doing drugs?"

* * *

At the Uchiha residence…

Sasuke walked by a door and was surprised to see his godfather lying on the floor, unconscious.

He rushed over to Madara, dropping his backpack. "Daifu?" Madara started to stir, groaning. "Daifu, are you alright?" asked Sasuke, worried.

"Sasuke…ugh…" muttered Madara, then pushed himself up slightly. Sasuke helped him over to rest on a nearby padded footrest.

"What were doing on the floor?" said Sasuke, his worry slightly aleviated.

"I don't know," breathed Madara, looking exhausted and confused.

"Have you been there all night?"

Madara focused, trying to remember. "Last night I was…" Suddenly an image of himself convulsing in the lab appeared vividly, then just as quickly vanished. Madara looked up at his godson, lost.

"What?" Sasuke asked, looking worried at Madara's expression.

"…I don't remember."

"Uchiha-san!" One of the assistants ran in, followed by Madara's butler.

"Madara-sama, I asked everyone to wait for you," said the butler quickly.

Sasuke stood up. "I'm sorry, my father's not feeling well-"

"Uchiha-san," the assistant interrupted. "Your brother is dead."

"What?" Madara was shocked and in disbelief.

"We found his body in the lab. He's been murdered, sir."

"What are you talking about?" Madara was now more confused than before. 'Murdered? What happened in the lab last night?'

"And the flight armor and the warhawk…" continued the assistant.

Madara grew more alert at this. "What about it?"

"It's been stolen, sir."

'…What?'

* * *

**Author's Note:**

**minna-san: everyone**

**In the Spider-Man movie, Uncle Ben refers to Peter as Michelangelo. In this context, I didn't think that nickname was appropriate. So I did a little research, and decided to have Jiraiya call Naruto Kikuchi Yosai, who apparently was a famous Japanese painter, lived from 1781 to 1878, and did portraits of historical figures**

**-sama: Lord, more respectful than -san**

**-otooji: Uncle**

**hentai: pervert**

**daifu: godfather**

* * *

**Okay, so Naruto's gotten kinda buff, he now has his signature whiskers, and his hair is more messed up and spiky, though not the same way as it is currently. And we get a little hint of one of his new powers.**

**And Madara can't remember what happened...?**

**Edit: I just found out that "Kitsune-Jin" has over 1300 hits so far! Holy crap! Thanks, minna-san!  
**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter of "Kitsune-Jin"! Please read and review!**


	8. Chapter 7: A Bizzare School Day

**It's been a week since I last updated, so sorry about that. But right now, I am currently in college working with engineering and difficult math classes, so I can't promise when the next chapter will be up. I hope you guys can understand. **

**Anyway, where and how Naruto discovers his powers at school will be slightly different to adjust to the different powers that Naruto himself has. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 7

'Thoughts'

**Sound effects**

_(Change of POV or skip forward in time)_**  
**

**

* * *

RIIIINNNG**

"Well, that's the end of that lesson," said the teacher. "I want you all to work on your calculus problems from page 103-105. Go from 14 to 70, all evens."

The class got up, groaning and complaining, and started to head out of the classroom. Naruto still sat in his desk, putting his things in his backpack, his mind focused on the morning. The initial thrill and wonder had faded, leaving him with confusion. 'I don't get it…just how did this happen to me? What's with the new body?'

"Hey, Naruto!" Naruto turned to see Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru waiting in the doorway, getting out the way of a student who spilled his energy drink on the tile floor. "What's keeping you?"

"It's nothing," said Naruto, getting up. "Go ahead, I'll catch up."

Sasuke shrugged, as they headed out. "Suit yourself, Naruto."

Naruto picked up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, looking to the side. He could see Sakura still putting her things away, which was odd, as she typically rushed out of the class with the rest of the students.

'I wish we could talk together just like old time…' thought Naruto with a sad smiler, watching Sakura focus on balancing her books and texting on her phone as she walked briskly to the doorway. So focused that she missed the puddle of energy drink in front of her and slipped.

It was like something clicked into place inside of Naruto as she watched Sakura fall backward with a yelp, seemingly in slow motion.

With speed he never thought he would have, Naruto rushed forward and caught Sakura with one hand. Naruto looked up quickly, seeing the books and cell phone in midair, also seeming to fall in slow motion. He reached out with his free hand and effortless caught the books and phone, falling neatly on top of each other.

As time seemed to speed up and return to normal, Naruto looked to Sakura to see a shocked and amazed look on her beautiful face.

* * *

_(Sakura POV, 9 seconds earlier)_

I internally huffed, not believing how much of a jerk Neji was acting lately. 'Doesn't he get that I want some space? So what if I don't want to get to making out just yet? Shannaro!'

Then my foot suddenly went skyward and I was facing the ceiling. "Kya!" 'Oh crap!' I could see the books I'd been carrying, along with my phone. I shut my eyes reflexively, waiting for impact.

Suddenly, a hand shot around and grabbed me firmly by the waist, making my eyes open. I could make out Naruto holding me, holding out his hand to catch the falling books. 'Oh no, he'll get hurt!'

I could feel my mouth drop as his hand easily caught every book, with my phone falling on top.

Disbelief filled my mind, making it feel nothing but amazement. 'I didn't know Naruto was that fast…'

* * *

_(Present time)_

"Wow, great reflexes!" breathed Sakura, wearing a look of amazed disbelief, looking from Naruto to the stack of books and back again. Then she smiled. "Thanks."

Naruto grinned, blushing slightly, not even bothering to think about how he managed the superhuman feat. "No problem." 'She's even more beautiful up close…'

Sakura got to her feet, and Naruto gave her books and phone back. The girl suddenly leaned in closer, making Naruto blush even more red, and lean back slightly.

"Your eyes…" said Sakura thoughtfully, then smiled again. "I've forgotten how blue they were because of your glasses. Did you just get contacts?"

Naruto was in shock for a few seconds. 'She remembers…? She actually remembers…?' Then he grinned goofily at Sakura. 'Have you never forgotten, Sakura-chan?'

Sakura giggled slightly at the wide idiotic grin Naruto was wearing. "Well, see ya, Naruto." With that, she walked out the door. 'He should leave his hair uncombed more often like that.'

Naruto stood in the empty classroom still digesting this new information. 'She does remember…and she talked to me…' Then suddenly, he heard breathing from somewhere behind him. Naruto whirled around expecting to see someone right behind him and instead, what he saw confounded him.

There in the corner of the classroom, looking at him with the same shocked look on Naruto's face, was a perfect copy of Naruto himself.

Naruto blinked, then felt his jaw drop. 'You have got to be joking…I've gotta be seeing things…' The copy of Naruto scratched his head, puzzled, then promptly vanished in a small puff of white smoke.

Naruto took a step back, startled, and reflexively brought his hands up to defend himself. When nothing happened, he let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding and turned back around, then jumped in surprise.

Another copy of him stood in front of him. Naruto shook his head quickly, then smacked himself in the forehead. 'Calm down, Naruto. You're just seeing things. That's just a hallucination.'

The clone suddenly grinned mischeviously, then turned and ran out the door, knocking aside the desks.

Naruto stood, dumbfounded for a good three seconds. "Since when have hallucinations been able to push other things?" Then he snapped out of his trance and quickly ran out the door as well.

As he ran down the empty hall, Naruto's mind was completely focused on finding his clone. 'If he causes any trouble, I'm dead!' For some reason, although he still couldn't see his copy, he could hear its footsteps echoing from down the hall.

Naruto turned the corner just in time to see the cafeteria door swing closed. He heard a splatter and an outraged yell. 'Oh, crap…' The door swung open and his clone, now panicked, rushed out, only to poof away into smoke.

Naruto was allowed only one second of confusion before the cafeteria swung open, revealing a pissed-off Neji with a mess of cafeteria food on the top of his head. When he saw Naruto, he gave an angry yell and immediately started chasing after him. Naruto quickly turned tail and ran, confused.

'What the hell happened in there?' Naruto yelled to himself. He suddenly got an image of the clone running loose in the cafeteria, and knocking food onto Neji's head.

Naruto quickly outran Neji, which only a day before he would never have been able to do. Naruto quickly turned the corner and stopped at an intersection in the halls, needing to think.

'Okay, this is getting out of hand,' thought Naruto. 'First I get weird whiskers on my face, I miss the bus again, I save Sakura, no, wait, that isn't bad, and now clones of myself are appearing and making trouble! Why can't I just be somebody else?' He felt nauseous from imagining the scene and his body burned.

Unfortunately, Naruto was so embroiled in his thoughts that he didn't hear or notice Neji, accompinied, by his friends, running around the corner. "You!" barked Neji, making Naruto jump.

'Ah, crap, I'm in for it now…!' thought Naruto, looking nervous. Then Neji said something completely unexpected.

"Did you see where Uzumaki went?"

Naruto blinked, confused. "Wha?"

"You heard me." Neji leaned in closer, and Naruto could smell grease coming from his hair. "Where did he go?"

Still confused, Naruto pointed to the left, and Neji and his gang quickly ran in that direction. 'What the heck…?' Naruto wondered; the whole thing just seemed bizarre. Naruto looked down at himself, and was further shocked to see he was wearing shorts, a gray shirt, had a paler skin tone, and was slightly shorter. Suddenly, his appearance changed to his normal one, disorienting Naruto further.

"I gotta get outta here…" he muttered and headed back the way he came.

* * *

_(With Neji and his friends)_

Neji and his group hurried down the hallway only to come to a dead end. Neji stared at the bare wall for a moment, then sneered. "Uzumaki…"

* * *

_(Back with Naruto)_

As Naruto hurriedly walked back to the classroom where he had left his things, students started filtering into the hall. Naruto quickly ran into his classroom, picked up his bag, and ran back up. He headed to the exit of the school and suddenly stopped next to a line of lockers when he heard rapid footsteps and Neji's angry voice.

Naruto looked over and could not see Neji among the students. For some reason, everybody's voices seemed to be louder. Naruto sniffed the air unconsciously and was overwhelmed by a variety of smells, particularly a familiar greasy one he had smelled previously.

'Okay, this is just weird,' Naruto thought, closing his eyes, frustrated; the greasy smell was getting stronger. Then instinct suddenly kicked in.

Naruto ducked out of the way just as Neji's fist smashed into the locker. Somebody yelled "Fight!" and a group of students started to circle around the two.

"Think you're pretty funny, don't you, freak?" said Neji angrily, circling Naruto.

"Neji, it was just an accident!" yelled Sakura, moving quickly over, upset, followed by other students.

"My fist breaking your teeth, that's the accident!" retorted Neji.

"C'mon, Flash, stop," said Sakura, exasperated.

"I'm not gonna fight, Neji," said Naruto quickly. 'I just need to get out of here…!'

"I wouldn't fight me neither," said Neji sarcastically, then put his fists up. "Let's see some of those martial arts you've been practicing. It's your destiny to be a loser."

"Kick his ass, Neji-kun!" yelled one of Neji's friends.

Neji threw a fast straight punch, but Naruto did an even faster sidestep, making the onlookers gasp and jump. Naruto dodged another punch as easily as before.

'Why's it always Naruto?' thought Sakura, frustrated at Neji. 'I know Neji's my boyfriend, but this is really crossing the line!'

Neji snarled and threw another punch.

* * *

_(Naruto POV)_

Okay, this is just weird. Right when that asshole Neji started to throw his punch, it's like time started to slow down or something.

Everyone's reactions were really slow, and it took a while for their expressions to change. Neji's punch was moving slowly enough for me to lean to the side and dodge.

'Huh…'

* * *

_(Normal POV)_

Neji growled and swung widely at Naruto, who dodged by arching his back quickly to the point that his torso was parallel to the ground. The onlookers "whoa"-ed and some whistled. Naruto looked, surprised, at an even more surprised Sakura before bringing himself up right and moving to the other side.

At this moment, Sasuke, Kiba, and Shikamaru, pushed their way through the crowd and were surprised at the situation. "What the…Naruto?" exclaimed Kiba, shocked.

Shikamaru groaned. "What did he do this time…? At least he's not getting beaten up."

Naruto suddenly noticed his friends, then shook his head, hearing somebody sneak behind him.

Sakura noticed the three of them. "Aren't you gonna help him?"

Sasuke shook his head, confused. "He doesn't want our help. Naruto isn't gonna back down from this."

Naruto's newly developed instincts kicked in and jumped up high, completely dodging the attempted tackle from Neji's friend behind him. Everyone gasped and whooped as Naruto did three consecutive backflips in midair and landed on all fours.

Naruto stood up, in awe of the manuever he just pulled off, now facing his two opponents. "Which one?" said Sasuke, his jaw dropped.

Neji's friend turned to him. "Go ahead, Neji-kun." Neji pushed him aside, disgusted, and started to swing wildly at Naruto. Naruto dodged the first three punches, swiftly blocked the next two with his forearms, and grabbed Neji's last punch at the wrist with his right hand.

Naruto held on firmly, and was astonished, along with everyone else, to hear crackling sounds coming from Neji's wrist. Neji grimaced, groaning in pain.

'Whoa…I really am stronger than I look,' Naruto thought wonderingly, then put on a determined face. 'Gotta get him away from me…okay, try to not to hit full force…'

Naruto lashed out with his free fist and hit Neji squarely in the chest, sending him literally flying back more than a meter, making everyone gasp. Neji slid along where he hit the legs of a hapless teacher carrying his lunch, making him spill his lunch directly onto Neji's face.

The students cheered and whooped; Neji had always been a bully to virtually every student because of his superiority complex. Naruto felt exhilarated as he still held his fist in front of him, something that he rarely felt.

However the exhilaration started to fade when he saw Sakura looking incredulous and a little scared, like Naruto was suddenly a freak of nature.

"Kami, Uzumaki, you are a freak," said the friend of Neji's as the rest of the students started to head over to Neji, now looking slightly worried.

'Maybe even that was too much…' thought Naruto, getting anxious.

"Naruto!" said a grinning Kiba, making Naruto turn around. "That was awesome!"

"How did you do that?" Sasuke asked, impressed. "You've never done anything like that."

Naruto didn't pay attention. He was paying attention to the suspicious and freaked-out looks on people's faces, specifically Sakura's, who looked even a little frightened. Only one thing came to the altered blonde's mind.

'…I gotta get outta here.'

With that, Naruto turned around and ran.

"Naruto?" Sasuke called after him. "Naruto!"

As the students started to head back to classes, Sakura stared after him. 'What's going on with you, Naruto?'

**

* * *

For Neji fans, I'm sorry I made him like this. But when he's first seen, in the Chunin exams, he really is an ass. And at that time, he does seem like the type to beat on people who he thinks is weaker than him (and he does). **

**So, the powers that Naruto has thus far in this chapter, as he may have or develop more over time, is super-strength, super-speed and enhanced reflexes (which makes things seem to be moving slower), greater hearing and sense of smell, transformation, and, of course, the clones. I altered the flip scene to make Naruto seem a little more animalistic, because it seems more like him to land on all fours after something like that. **

**And am I ever going to explain what Sakura's past connection with Naruto is?  
**

**Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter of "Kitsune-Jin"!**


	9. Chapter 8: Explanations and Lessons

**I know some of you have been waiting for this chapter for awhile, so without further ado or pointless excuses, here's the chapter!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 8

'Thoughts'

**Sound effects**

_(Change of POV or skip in time)_**  
**

* * *

Naruto burst through the school doors, and ran along the sidewalk, agitated. He dodged around people with an agility that he never before possessed, sprinting along the sidewalks and intersections.

Naruto quickly ran into an alleyway and slowed down once he felt that nobody could see him. 'Okay, how the hell did this happen? I wake up ripped, turn into somebody else, make a copy of myself, and beat Neji with one punch?' thought Naruto frantically, slumping against the brick wall.

He stared at his hands. "Okay…calm down…think of something you know about…youkai…okay, inugami, kappa, oni, kitsune…wait, kitsune!"

His mind flashed through all that he knew about kitsune. Kitsune shapeshifting into a different form. Kitsune creating doppelgangers of themselves. The kitsune that bit him the day before.

'Maybe…' "Ever since I got bit by that weird fox, things have started going to hell. So…the fox did this?"

"Ding, ding, ding," said a voice dryly. Naruto spun around, looking for where the voice came from, and saw nothing.

Naruto took a breath, and let it out. "Guess I'm just hearing things."

"Guess again, gaki."

Naruto looked behind him and saw the same two-tailed fox that bit him sitting on a trash can, looking at him innocently. "Where'd you come from?" said Naruto warily. 'I didn't hear anything.'

The nibi no kitsune simply looked at him, a tail giving an occasional twitch. Naruto groaned and moved next to the kitsune, leaning against the wall. "You've given me a lot of trouble, you know. Wish I knew what to do."

The kitsune sighed and said, "Well, listen up and maybe you'll found out, gaki."

"Yeah, yeah…"

"…"

"…"

"W-WHAT THE HELL?" yelped Naruto, jumping up and scrambling away from the kitsune. "Y-YOU CAN TALK?" 'And why the hell it does sound kinda like me?'

The fox winced. "Yes, I can. Now shut it, you're hurting my ears. You'll attract unwanted attention."

Naruto took a deep breath, trying to control the pounding in his chest. "You…you were in my dream last night, weren't you?"

"So you do have some brains in that head of yours, huh?" At Naruto's offended face, the kitsune chuckled slightly. "I'm only messing with you. I wouldn't have bitten you if you were an idiot."

"What are you talking about?" said Naruto slowly. "Just who or what are you?"

"Do you want a short answer or a long answer to that question?"

"…?"

The kitsune groaned in exasperation and laid down. "My name is Shippo. As you can tell, I am a nibi no kitsune. More specifically, you could say that I am the right-hand kitsune of Inari-sama."

"Inari-sama? Isn't that the Shinto deity in charge"

"Yeah. I was told to be your guardian youkai."

"Guardian youkai?"

"A youkai who becomes spiritually connected to a human. While the human gains the kitsune's power, the kitsune gets a chance to ascend to Takama-ga-hara."

"Takama-ga-hara?"

Shippo looked at him, disbelief on his muzzle. "You know, if you paid attention to your studies, you'd know what I mean. It's where the kami live and it's connected to Earth by the Ama-no uki-hashi."

"…?" Naruto cocked his head to the side, puzzled.

"I'm talking about Heaven, dobe!" Shippo growled, frustrated.

Naruto tapped his fist into his palm. "Oh, yeah, I remember. Heaven, right, right."

Shippo took a deep breath, trying to contain his annoyance. "The point is, the more good deeds you perform using my power, the closer I'll be to getting to Takama-ga-hara. You'll be able to tell by the tails that I'll gain, and when I become a kyuubi no kitsune, I'll be ready to leave."

Naruto folded his arms, taking in this information. "So why are you here right now?"

Shippo leapt down from the trash can. "To teach you how to use my powers, gaki."

"Why're you calling me gaki? I thought kitsune that had fewer tails meant they were younger."

Shippo appeared to smile slightly, baring a fang. "So you aren't entirely stupid, eh? You're right, I am young by my race's standards, perhaps 12 years old in kitsune years. But in human years, I'm more than three times your age. But don't get away from the subject."

"So what are you going to teach me? Kitsune-bi? Possession?" asked Naruto, excited.

Shippo chuckled. "Sorry. Those aren't exactly my strong suits. First up, I'll be teaching you a basic henge."

"Henge?"

"Shape-shifting. You've already experienced it earlier, haven't you?"

Naruto's eyes widened, remembering the incident with Neji. "Oh, yeah, I remember feeling weird, then when I looked in my reflection, I was a brunette."

"Yep, that's shape-shifting alright. I've heard that the first few times it's performed the user feels nauseous, but that feeling fades away afterwards."

"So how do I do it then?"

"You have to understand the concept, gaki. For the moment, you can't shape-shift into someone who has a different mass than you. Also, don't even try shape-shifting into animals or inanimate objects."

"Why?"

"Because the transformation will be permanent," said Shippo, yawning.

Naruto swallowed. "Got it. So how do I do this henge?"

"Just imagine the changed you in your mind and focus on it. Just make it a small change for right now, like your eyes."

"Okay…" said Naruto skeptically.

* * *

_(7 attempts and 5 minutes later…)_

"No, you still haven't gotten it yet," said Shippo, annoyed.

Naruto cursed and plopped onto the ground. "Dammit, what the hell am I missing? Hey, give me a hint Shippo!"

Shippo gave an exasperated groan. 'Damn…this took up more of my time than I thought…' "Try clasping your hands together in some way. That helps with the concentration."

"Okay…" Naruto clasped his hands together, closing his eyes. He imagined his eyes slowly changing color, and felt a familiar nauseous sensation overtake, though considerably less intense than before.

As the sensation faded, Naruto opened his eyes and somehow felt successful. He examined his reflection in a fallen shard of glass and saw that his eyes had successfully become a rich green.

"About time," said Shippo dryly, while Naruto grinned. "Now to go back to your normal self, do the exact same thing, only focus on your real form. Then we'll move on…"

* * *

Naruto ran along the roof nearby, exulting in his new speed. 'How fast am I going? 30 miles per hour? Ah well, who cares!' He let out an exhilarated whoop as he jumped cleanly over a 10ft gap between roofs, his eyes back to their normal bright blue.

"You're certainly enjoying yourself, aren't you?" said Shippo lazily, sprinting alongside the ecstatic blond.

"Hell yeah! Woo!" Naruto wore a huge goofy grin on his face as he jumped another gap between rooftops.

"Good for you," said Shippo, starting to slow down. "Time for the next lesson."

Naruto slowed down as well. "Huh?" The two of them stopped at the middle of the roof. "On what?"

"Bunshins."

"What? You mean I'm gonna make a clone of myself?"

"That's right. You made a couple by accident earlier."

Naruto winced, remember how one of the clones had caused havoc in school. "Yeah. And how did you know that happened?"

"I wouldn't be your guardian youkai if I didn't. The first few times you form clones, they won't necessarily be in control of themselves, hence why one of them ran amok."

"So…how do I make one?"

Shippo sat down. "You have to imagine the number of clones you want to make in your mind. I recommend you try not to go over 50. Also, you have to do something with both your hands."

"What do I do with my hands?"

Shippo seemed to shrug. "Don't remember."

"…You're joking, right?"

"Nope."

"…Ugh." Naruto looked at his hands, frustrated. 'Okay…calm down…maybe one clone just to be safe…now what do I do with my hands…?' "Go, clone!" yelled Naruto, outstretching his open palms forward.

Nothing.

"Okay…appear!" Naruto exclaimed, smacking his fists together.

Still nothing.

"I summon you, clone!" Naruto pointed his index fingers forward in the style of dual pistols.

Again still nothing.

"Go! Go! Go! Go, clone, clone!" All his fingers connected at their tips. In the shapes of claws. With dual thumbs up. In the "Rock on!" gesture.

All producing nothing. Frustrated, Naruto banged his first two fingers on either hand into a cross formation. 'Appear already, you stupid clone!'

**Poof**

A perfect copy of Naruto appeared next to him in a puff of white smoke. The two Narutos stared at each other, their jaws dropped. Then the Naruto on the left grinned and made the same cross-like sign with his fingers again.

**Poof**

A Naruto appeared to the left of the Naruto who just made the sign. 'Now let's try those other 28 clones…' thought the original, focusing hard on the greater amount of clones.

**POOOOF!**

28 grinning Narutos poofed into existence on the roof. Shippo smiled at the sight, his blue slitted eyes glinting. "Good job, blondie. Producing that many bunshins so quickly. However…"

"I did it!" yelled one of the Narutos. "I made 30 copies of me!"

"What are you talking about?" retorted another Naruto. "I made all you clones. I'm the original!"

'Huh?' thought the original Naruto.

"You're all idiots!" exclaimed another Naruto. "I'm the real Naruto!"

"Call us idiots, will you? I'll beat the crap out of you!"

"You, the real one! Hah, you must be crazy, cause I'm the real one!"

"Bastard! I'll beat the crap out of you for that!"

The pack of Narutos started punching and kicking each other. Each time they were hit, they exploded in a puff of white smoke. 'Figures,' thought Shippo, amused, as he lazily groomed his orange fur. 'Even though he made that many clones, it'll still be awhile before they break out of this unruly behavior.'

Eventually all of the clones had disappeared, leaving behind the original Naruto, now exhausted, bruised, and wearing a pathetic look of sheepish disbelief.

"Fun ability isn't it?" asked Shippo, grinning that fox smile again.

"…Urusai, teme."

* * *

**Kappa: river demons that have simian features or features of a duck or turtle. Read the Harry Potter books for a more accurate image, not the movies. **

**Gaki: kid, squirt**

**Nibi no kitsune: two-tailed fox**

**Shippo: tail**

**Inari: one of the major Japanese deities of the Shinto religion; kami of fertility, foxes, industry, and worldly success; has pure-white kitsune as messengers**

**Takamagahara: "High Heaven's Plain". In Shinto religion, dwelling place of the kami, and essentially heaven. Created from chaos. **

**Ama-no uki-hashi: "Floating Bridge of Heaven". Link between Earth and Takama-ga-hara. **

**Kitsune-bi: "fox-fire". One of the powers of the kitsune. **

**Henge: transformation, shape-shifting**

**Urusai: "Shut up"**

* * *

**Anyway...two months without an update...gomen-ne, minna-san. But I'm about to finish up finals, so I might be able to get in at least one more chapter for Christmas break. **

**I got the majority of this chapter done today and yesterday. I had to do some research, clearly. This is all real info, check it out for yourself if you don't believe me. **

**This feels like one of my worse chapters, possibly because I deviated the most from the original movie so far. What did you guys think?**

**I'm going to rein in Naruto's strength for right now. Currently, he can only go two miles per hour faster than the current human speed record, 28 mph. In terms of strength, he can probably only lift a ton, as opposed to Spider-Man's ten tons. I want to let Naruto's powers develop and get even stronger. And yes, he did use the hand-seal for the kage-bunshin.  
**

**The scene where Naruto summons the clones was completely different at first, with a different power involved, and more similar to the scene in the movie. **

**This chapter was also originally going to have up to the scene where Sakura gushes over some guy's car and Naruto realizes he has to get one, but I didn't want to keep you guys waiting. That scene will be included in the next chapter, where we finally go over some of Sakura and Naruto's past. **


	10. Chapter 9: Reconnecting and a Costume

**This was originally gonna be a Christmas update for you all. But it would appear I'm late...crap!**

**Hope you enjoy this story anyway!**

**

* * *

Chapter 9**

'Thoughts'

(Change in time or space)

* * *

"Man, what a day," panted Naruto, as he jogged along the street of his neighborhood. 'That damn fox really wore me out. He had me making clones until afternoon.'

* * *

(Flashback)

"Looks like you have the gist of it," said Shippo, relieved, facing 30 Narutos. "You've finally got control of your clones."

"Yeah…it took a while though, asshole!" panted the original Naruto, hands on his knees.

"It took 20 times or so, you know?" asked one of the clones curiously.

"Something like that," said another clone.

"And now it's getting dark out, ain't it?"

"…Ugh…"

Shippo frowned, as the clones poofed away. "Now, before I go, make those whiskers on your face go away. They make you look conspicuous."

Naruto straightened, nodding wearily and focused. As the whiskers on his face vanished, Naruto was relieved to find that there was no queasiness.

Shippo grinned. "Well, we'll continue tomorrow. Be ready." With that, Shippo seemed to fade away with the wind.

Naruto groaned. "That asshole…"

(Flashback End)

* * *

Naruto opened the door to his house, looking around. The walls of the kitchen were covered in fresh paint with no aunt or uncle in sight. He sighed, heading over to the counter where a note was left and picked it up.

The note read "Kikuchi Yosai-sama! There's leftover ramen and curry in the fridge, so eat up, gaki!"

Naruto looked up at the sound of yelling. Through the window, he could see Sakura's family arguing and a frustrated Sakura leaving the room.

He sighed, pulling on a dark orange zip-up hoodie with a red spiral on the back. 'Poor Sakura-chan…'

Naruto went out through the back door, carrying a bag of trash and tossing it in one of the bins, doing his best to ignore Sakura's parents yelling. He heard the door to Sakura's house slam shut, and looked up to see Sakura stalk out wearing her usual green jacket over her clothes from before.

"…Sakura?"

"What?" Sakura snapped, then relaxed when she saw it was Naruto who called her name. "Oh, gomen ne, Naruto. Were you listening to that?"

"No," said Naruto, quickly. "Okay, I heard, but I was just taking out the trash."

Sakura looked down. "I guess you can always hear us."

Naruto shrugged, and said, "Everybody shouts, you know. Even Jiraiya-otooji and Tsunade-shukubo yell at each other."

"They do?"

"Yep. Sometimes Tsunade beats up Jiraiya when he goes over the top."

Sakura smiled. "Now I remember. They did that on a picnic our families went to."

"You remember?"

"Of course," Sakura smiled, touching the red ribbon in her hair.

* * *

(Seven Years Earlier)

"Come on, Naruto! Its just a little farther!" said a happy Sakura running up a hill. She was wearing a rich green summer dress with white edges that stretched down to her shins and her unbound hair fell to her shoulders.

"I'm coming! And I'm gonna beat you there, believe it, Sakura-chan!" yelled Naruto, scrambling after her. He wore an orange shirt with a red spiral and blue shorts. He stumbled on the grass and fell.

"You okay?"

"Yeah!" Pouting, Naruto pulled a pair of glasses out of his pocket and shoved them on. "I hate having to wear these."

"Well, you only got them a few weeks ago," giggled Sakura, walking over and offering her hand to Naruto.

Naruto took her hand and got up, then took off running for the top of the hill laughing. "Gonna beat you there! Believe it!"

"Hey no fair!" The two reached the top panting, then straightened, grinning at each other.

"Get over here, you two!" called Jiraiya, wearing a pair of olive pants, a white shirt and red vest. "We have ramen for you, Naruto!"

"Woohoo!" The two kids ran happily over to the picnic site where Tsunade, Jiraiya, Sakura's parents and uncle were sitting on a blanket.

Naruto and Sakura took their food and plopped down next to Sakura's uncle. "So, Sasori," asked Sakura's father, a man with reddish-brown hair and green eyes. "I heard you were close to getting your master's degree soon."

"Yes, and I'm still doing bunraku for younger kids," smiled Sasori calmly. "I must admit, I do enjoy doing the shows for audiences though."

Sakura's mother sighed. "It's certainly good to hear." She had a kind face, mid-length pink hair, and brown eyes.

"Aren't you guys going to be moving, though?" asked Sasori, taking a sandwich.

Naruto froze. "You guys are moving?"

Sakura's young face looked sad. "Yeah. In a few weeks actually."

"…"

"Hey, cheer up, gaki!" Jiraiya chuckled, ruffling Naruto's spiky blonde hair. "You'll probably see each other again. Sakura will probably be a hot piece of ass then, too," he chuckled with a perverted look on his face.

Tsunade, wearing a green jacket over a white blouse and blue jeans, punched him hard in the chest. "Hentai!"

Naruto and Sakura looked at each other, depressed, while Jiraiya was whining about the pain.

"…"

* * *

(A Few Weeks Later)

"Do you guys really have to leave?" asked Naruto sadly, standing outside Sakura's house in the suburbs. A moving van waited at the sidewalk, along with Sakura's parents.

Sakura nodded. "My parents have to do their jobs somewhere else," she said softly. Her eyes and cheeks were red, and there were tear stains on her cheeks. "I don't want to go."

Naruto's eyes started to get watery, then suddenly he smiled. "Wait right here Sakura-chan!" He then ran into his house, which was across the street. He came back clutching something in his hand.

"Here," Naruto said, handing Sakura a red cloth ribbon.

"What's this?"

Naruto scratched his head sheepishly. "Well, your hair is always in your face, so nobody really sees how cute you are. So you maybe could use this to keep your hair back. Believe it!"

As her parents drove Sakura away, following the moving van, the two kids sadly waved goodbye to each other.

Sakura stared at Naruto, surprised, then smiled. "Arigatou, Naruto." She hugged a surprised Naruto for a few seconds, then ran over to the moving van.

(Flashback End)

* * *

Naruto smiled at the memory. "I remember I used to say "believe it" all the time. It was a pretty stupid phrase, now that I think back."

Sakura grimaced. "Yeah, I used to smack you if you said it too much."

"…Oh, yeah…The ribbon I gave you back then…it's the same one you're wearing now, right?"

"Yeah," said Sakura, still fingering the end of her ribbon. "I've basically worn it to hold my hair back ever since then."

"…It looks good, Sakura."

"Thanks. You can still call me Sakura-chan, you know."

Naruto smiled at that, then frowned. "Listen…about today, the thing with Neji…"

Sakura sighed, walking over slowly to Naruto. "You really freaked us out, you know."

"Gomen ne, Sakura-chan. He doing ok?" Naruto put his hands in the pockets of his hoodie.

Sakura waved it aside with a small laugh. "He's just glad you didn't give him a black eye for graduation."

There was an uncomfortable silence between the two of them for several seconds, then Sakura asked softly, "So where are you going after you graduate?"

Naruto pondered for a few seconds while Sakura walked up to the fence separating them. "…I don't know…I, uh, wanna move into the city. You know, Konohagakure." Naruto walked up to the fence, putting his hand on it. "Maybe get a job as a photographer. Use the money to work my way through college."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully at that, then Naruto asked, "How bout you?"

"Headed for Konoha too," said Sakura, biting her lip, then sighed. "Can't wait to get out of here. Maybe learn some medical stuff. And I wanna…" Sakura then looked down, blushing slightly.

"What?" At Sakura's embarrassed silence, Naruto grinned. "Oh c'mon. Try me."

"…I wanna…act. On stage."

"Really?" exclaimed Naruto, grinning widely. Sakura nodded, a little confused, and Naruto said, "Well that's perfect. You were awesome in all the school plays."

Sakura grinned, surprised and pleased. "Really?"

"Yeah! I cried like a baby when you did Cinderella."

Sakura frowned slightly. "Naruto, that was fourth grade."

Naruto grinned again. "Well, even then. Sometimes…even if people haven't seen each other for awhile…they know each other. You can just see what's coming."

This made the rosette smile, and she asked gently, "What do you see coming for you?"

Naruto's expression grew distant. 'What's coming for me…definitely a lot, with all the so-called training Shippo has for me.' "…I don't know. Whatever it is, it's something I've never felt before."

Sakura hesitated, looking a little shy. "And…what for me?"

"For you? You're gonna light up Kabuki-za."

Sakura stared at him. Kabuki-za was virtually the theatre on the entire continent. She blushed, touched by his confidence in her. 'Now that I think about it…he's really grown…' She took a step forward. "You know…you're taller than you look," she said softly.

Naruto's face turned pink. "I-I hunch."

"…Don't." Sakura smiled. "You're taller than me now."

The two looked at each other in a comfortable silence, Naruto's heart thumping loudly in his ears as he stared at his childhood friend, now an amazing beauty. 'Oh Kami…the way she's looking at me…'

The two were startled by the sound of a car pulling up and by the sound of Neji, calling out, "Hey, Sakura. Check out my birthday present."

Sakura and Naruto looked down the alley between their houses to see Neji standing in front of a new car at the sidewalk.

Sakura looked over at Naruto apologetically. "…I've gotta go."

"…Okay. Bye."

"Bye."

Naruto sighed as Sakura hurried off to the car. 'Figures…Sakura would never like me in that way…'

Naruto did not see Sakura, however, put a hand to her red face. 'What was that?' she wondered to herself. 'I don't think I've felt like this before with just a conversation.'

Her attention was caught by the expensive and shiny car that Neji looked very proud of. "Oh Kami, it's gorgeous!" she said excitedly.

Naruto watched Sakura giddily get into the car with Neji, who warned her not to scratch the leather. 'She likes guys with cool cars huh…?'

Then he grinned. 'Cool cars? That's it!'

* * *

(Inside Naruto's room)

Naruto flipped through a recent newspaper, scanning the car articles and offerings, the faint whiskers on his face now visible. 'No…too expensive…too expensive…_way_ too expensive…'

He came to a column of used but stylish cars. 'Okay…this is a little better, but still too expensive…too expensive…too expensive…'

Naruto nodded to himself when he saw a car being offered for 259,800 ryo. 'That's more manageable…but how will I get the money?'

His eyes drifted to the small article underneath it and widened. 'Amateur wrestlers…300,000 ryo…for 3 minutes in the ring…? Awesome! I can do that with the power I've gained!'

Naruto read the next line under it and his eyes narrowed. 'Colorful characters a must…'

Then he imagined himself driving the car in the newspaper and Sakura's excited face. Naruto quickly took out a notebook and a pen, flipped it open, and quickly wrote "Costume Possibilities".

He quickly sketched drawing after drawing, but nothing seemed to work. 'Nah, not spandex, that's not my style…nothing shiny…not a utility belt…nobody should know my identity.'

Minutes turned into hours as Naruto sketched but he still came up with nothing, tearing out the used sheets of paper. 'What should the symbol be…? Definitely something to do with the kitsune or its tails…but what?'

He leaned back in his chair, frustrated, then caught sight of the spiral on the back of his hoodie with the mirror.

An idea struck Naruto's mind and he quickly sketched a thick black spiral with nine squiggles reminiscent of fox tails around it. 'Now that's more like it,' he thought, grinning, then frowned. 'Ah, crap. What about the actual costume?'

An image of a grinning Shippo flashed into his mind. 'Okay, maybe the costume should kinda look like that guy, but I don't want it to look furry. Aagh, I'm missing something.'

Naruto's eyes traveled around his room. He had a poster of Bruce Lee on his wall, another of Astro Boy, and his pride and joy, a well-detailed action figure of Son Goku from the Dragon Ball series. The character was an inspiration to Naruto and was, undoubtedly, to him, the most amazing hero that ever existed, in both fiction and non-fiction.

Then inspiration struck Naruto like a bolt of lightning.

Naruto started sketching like mad, and a powerful figure began to take shape on the paper. Naruto grinned as he pulled out colored pens and started to color the design, imagining Sakura being near him. 'For once I'm glad I took that sketching class!'

Two hours of careful sketching and coloring later, Naruto looked with pride at the finished design.

The figure wore a tight black top with long sleeves that reached all the way to the wrists and up to the neck. The muscles were very visible through the shirt. The undersides of the arms from the wrists up to the armpits and the hollow of the neck upward were white. The figure wore brown leather gloves and a mask that covered his entire head.

The lower half of the mask was white with three lines on both cheeks, with a black line along the bridge of the nose. The upper half of the mask was orange, with the areas outside and under the eyes being a darker orange than the rest of the upper half of the mask. The eyes themselves were slightly larger than a human's and were completely white. On top of the mask was a pair of small fox-like ears, complete with black tips.

The figure also featured a dark orange sleeveless gi, with a black obi around the waist. On the lapel of the gi and around the figure's neck was a small amount of white fur. The front of the gi revealed the pectorals of the figure, upon which was a small orange version of the symbol Naruto had drawn earlier.

The figure was wearing dark orange combat trousers with a black stripe along the outer side of each leg. The pant legs were tucked into black military boots, which went up to the character's shins.

To top it off, the heroic figure was drawn in such a way that it looked he was about to jump right out of the paper.

Naruto glanced at the corner, where he had drawn the back of the gi with the symbol on it, then back at his costume's design.

The teen smiled in satisfaction. 'That's it. This is the one.'

* * *

**Gomen ne: I'm sorry**

**-shukubo: aunt (I think)**

**Bunraku: puppet theatre, one of the principal forms of drama in Japan**

**Arigatou: Thanks**

**Kabuki-za: main theatre in Tokyo for the Kabuki drama form. Broadway would not exactly work in the context of the story so I did my research and this is what I came up with.**

**Conversions from ryo to dollars: in my experience, whenever a mangaka comes up with a type of currency for their story, it's usually linked directly to yen. So 1,000 ryo would probably equal 1,000 yen. 1,000 yen, in turn, would convert to 1 dollar. So, 259,800 ryo would equal $2,598, which is the actual price for the car in the movie.**

**Gi and obi: typical martial artist gear. Son Goku, for example, wears a gi throughout the Dragon Ball series, and starts wearing an obi (sash) starting from the Android Saga. If you have no clue what I'm talking about (and I pity you if you don't know what I'm talking about), read some martial arts manga.  
**

* * *

**Why are Goku's clothes influencing the design of the costume? Simply put, because Goku's design and personality heavily influenced Naruto's design and personality. Kishimoto stated it himself. Besides, Goku is my favorite hero of all time.  
**

**You like the costume design? Yes? No? I'm gonna see if I can try to get the design of Naruto's costume up, though I can't promise when it'll be up. **

**And hey, Naruto saying "Believe it!" so much in the early episodes of the series really was annoying. **

**Yeah, yeah, I know the concept of Sasori being related to Sakura has been used before. But, I thought it was fitting, seeing as you see in the last moments of his second life, you see he's not so bad. Who knows, maybe I might use him, Itachi, and other Akatsuki members later on in the story.  
**

**Also, if any of the Japanese language that I am using is wrong, please let me know.**

**Not quite too sure when I'll have the next chapter up. Hopefully within the month, if college isn't too strenuous.**

**See ya later!  
**


	11. Chapter 10: Laughter and a Perv's Advice

**Yes, people, I am not discontinuing this story. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

*soundeffects*

(Change in time and/or space)

'thoughts'

* * *

(The following morning…)

"Yah!" *poof* "Rah!" *poof*

Naruto dodged another punch thrown by a clone, then destroyed it with a punch to the jaw. He grinned momentarily, facing the clones he had created himself.

'Good idea, damn fox!'

* * *

(Flashback to several minutes previously)

"What's this about, Shippo?" asked Naruto, annoyed. Shippo was sitting on Naruto's bed cleaning his fur, while Naruto stood apart from Shippo with his arms folded.

"Your display with your clones yesterday was humiliating," said Shippo bluntly.

"Wha? I was able to summon and control them and everything. What gives?"

Shippo let out a sigh. "True. But the way you dealt with the clones when they rebelled was pathetic. You have no experience with fighting groups of enemies."

Naruto groaned. It was true; when he had done martial arts in the past, it was always with one opponents and rarely two. It didn't help that he had virtually no motivation and never really put in any effort.

"Are you telling me what I think you're telling me?"

Shippo threw him a sharp look. "Don't waste time, gaki. Get some experience."

* * *

(Present)

Naruto's grinned faded as defended himself from 5 clones at once, adrenaline rushing through him. One of his clones slipped through and nailed Naruto in the stomach. He doubled over with a gasp of pain, and his clones dog-piled him.

Naruto let out a grunt as he pushed all the clones off of him, resulting in some of them imploding into smoke.

"Naruto!" Tsunade called, rapping on his door. Naruto and the remaining clones froze.

He cautiously opened the door. "What the hell are you doing in here?" asked Tsunade, looking annoyed with a touch of concern.

"I thought I could try working out for a bit?"

"Working out?"

"Yeah. You know, different kinds of push-ups, crunches, leg raises, squats, reverse flys. I'm gonna keep going til I give out."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "…All right. You've been acting strange recently, you know."

"Okay, okay." As Tsunade closed the door, Naruto turned around to see the clones emerging from hiding places in the bed, closet, and others.

"…Maybe we should practice somewhere else?"

* * *

(At the Uchiha apartment complex)

'What…is this?'

Madara, dressed in a bathrobe, stared at the front page of the day's edition of The Daily Leaf. The headline of the main article: UCHIHA CORP MAY LOSE CONTRACT TO QUEST.

He scanned the page in horrified disbelief, then flipped to the page where the article was continued, entitled "IS THIS THE END OF UCHIHA MADARA?"

He caught glimpses of phrases from the article such as "said to have an abrasive, even arrogant personality, quickly brushing off suggestions he finds foolish", "seen as ruthlessly ambitious", "risen to prominence by sacrificing those who have been loyal to him", but the title at the top stared tauntingly at him.

Twisted rage and hate started to bubble up inside Madara, as his fingers started to twitch and his irises seemed to redden. 'Those miserable scum…Just whose end is this?'

Just then, he heard a faint laugh echoing throughout the room, distracting him from his thoughts. It sounded rather deep and almost…demonic?

He looked around, as the laughter sounded again, though fainter.

Nothing.

Disturbed, Madara slowly walked off, his prior dark emotions starting to return.

* * *

(Back to the Uzumaki house)

"What the heck is going on with Naruto?" Jiraiya asked aloud, as he worked on his latest manuscript. "Something is bothering Naruto, or something with him has changed. He's never been afraid to tell me something. Hell, he jumps at it. So why now?"

Tsunade shrugged, as Naruto jogged down the steps, wearing black sweatpants and a zipped-up hoodie.

"Going to the downtown ramen shop," Naruto said briskly. "Be back in a bit."

"I'll drive you there, gaki," said Jiraiya, getting up.

"You don't need to."

"Nah, I need the exercise," waved off Jiraiya, then turned to Tsunade. "We'll be back faster than you can wiggle that ass."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow, half-amused and half-annoyed, as the two left.

* * *

(A Short Time Later)

Jiraiaya's car pulled up along the sidewalk. As Naruto made to get out of the car, Jiraiya stopped him.

"Naruto…we need to talk."

"Then can we talk later?"

Jiraiya frowned and turned off the engine. "We can talk now."

Naruto sighed. "What is there to talk about? Why now?"

"We haven't talked in a while. Your hakubo and I don't know who you are any more. You don't do your chores. And there's you do something strange in your room now." Jiraiya threw his nephew a pointed glance. "And I'm pretty sure it's not jerking off."

Naruto rolled his eyes, slightly disturbed at this. Jiraiya said disapprovingly "Not to mention you're starting fights at school. I know you've done martial arts but-"

"I already told you, I didn't start it!" 'Well, I guess in a way it was my fault…'

Jiraiya groaned. "…Well, you definitely finished it."

"What was I supposed to do then, run away!" Naruto said, indignant.

"Hell no! That's crazy!" barked Jiraiya. Naruto shrunk back, surprised by his uncle's outburst.

Jiraiya sighed, calming down. "Naruto, something is happening to you. I went through the exact same thing at your age."

Naruto raised his eyebrows, slightly amused. "Not exactly."

"Naruto. These are the years when a boy becomes the man he's gonna be for the rest of his life. Just be careful who you become."

Naruto looked a little confused as Jiraiya continued, "There are many types of people in the world. Some will be those that will be easy to take on, like that Hyuga Neji gaki. But there will be others out there who will frighten you. Remember, a man's worth is not measured by his strength, but by having the guts to never give up."

Naruto looked at his uncle oddly. "…Are you thinking that I'm gonna turn into some crybaby that runs away from trouble? Stop worrying about me! I know something's different, and I'll find something out. Stop lecturing me, ero-otooji!"

"I'm not trying to lecture, I'm trying to help, gaki. And I know I'm not your tou-san," said Jiraiya gently.

Naruto snapped. "Then stop pretending to be!"

Jiraiya looked at his nephew, a little surprise and disappointment on his face. "…Right. Pick you up at 10."

Naruto hesitated for a few seconds, then got out of the car. 'Maybe I went a little too far there…well, he'll probably forget by the time he picks me up.'

Naruto watched Jiraiya drive off until he disappeared around the corner, then glanced at the ramen shop across the street, feeling a little temptation to get a quick snack. He shook it off and walked to his true destination.

* * *

**gaki: punk, squirt**

**hakubo: aunt**

**ero-otooji: pervy uncle**

* * *

**Last part ain't exactly like it was in the movie, but, eh. It's inspired by the movie, which means some things will be different.**

**See ya soon!**


End file.
